Playoffs!

The Major League Baseball season drew to a close yesterday, with the Tampa Bay Rays and St. Louis Cardinals securing the American League and National League wild card playoff spots, respectively. While the division races were decided days (or even weeks) before the end of the season, not even nine innings were sufficient to determine the final standings. Both the Yankees-Rays game and the Phillies-Braves game went deep into extra innings before things were decided. And while it's tempting to rub in the demise of the Yankees' nemesis, I think the Red Sox's September record is punishment enough. Actually, I take that back. Watching the Yankees' ticker-tape parade next month will be punishment enough.

The U.S. Chess League is at the halfway point of the season, with the Philadelphia Inventors and the New York Knights tied atop the Eastern Division with a record of 3.5-1.5 (though Philadelphia currently holds the edge on tiebreaks). In the West, the Chicago Blaze are the class of the league, with an unbeaten 5-0 record. The San Francisco Mechanics are in second place with a 3-2 record. Next week sees interleague action, with New York taking on the Seattle Sluggers and Chicago facing off against the Baltimore Kingfishers.

Despite living in Buffalo for more than a year, I never acquired a rooting interest in the Bills. Nevertheless, I am pleased that the Bills' 3-0 start in the NFL season has given them something to cheer about. Whether or not it will last remains to be seen, but for the time being life is good in Orchard Park.

In other news, Ellen is running in her first marathon on Saturday. Everybody wish her luck!!